Know
by Madi Starlight
Summary: Know: verb (used with object) 1. "To perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty." Ahsoka has walked down the steps of the Jedi Temple leaving Anakin with two words: I know. What does he think of it and what does he do afterwards? (One shot.)


**[For my dear friend Michelle. Happy birthday, Snips~]**

Ahsoka was strong. She would be just fine on her own.

Anakin knew that.

He _knew_ that.

Deep down he _felt_ it.

 _Then what is this inexplicable pain?_

Ahsoka went down the steps mouthing to him two words. "I know." Without exactly specifying what she meant, she left him with that. In that moment he felt confusion, hurt, a plethora of other things, but mostly confusion because most of him was in denial. There was no way she could have known his secrets. No way. It took minutes to come to terms with it.

Finally he felt himself sink into the truth. She knew all along. About Padmé, maybe, but the words had deeper meaning than that. She knew him. The pain and all of his internal struggling, the fears that kept him up at night, gnawing away at his mind, the anger, the guilt, the burdens, she knew it all. More importantly. She understood because to certain degrees she'd felt it too.

However, he also knew _her_. The emotions inside her were like vivid spurts of color. Bright, concentrated, bold. Her decision tore her apart but she didn't regret it. If she did, eventually she would come to terms with it and move on. That's how she was. She'd find a way to keep her life moving and he doubted she'd ever change.

Unlike him.

All he could think about was watching the horizon where she'd walked off. Waiting. Burning with desperation for her to turn around and come back, waiting for her to smile one last time, wanting to hear her laugh. Lighten up, Skyguy.

Something.

Anything.

...Silence.

Anakin realized he was walking forward. Abruptly he stopped. There was no way he could find the strength to pursue her. And what for? To make her come back? Then what? He'd find some way to fail again. And again.

Things were better off this way. Beings were better off without him. It was always funny to him whenever he realized how much the people he loved actually didn't need him at all. It's really that he clung on to them and was dead inside without them. Ahsoka had really been the first person that he felt genuinely needed him at times. It felt terrifying yet have him a sense of self-worth. Now that she was gone, he was left wondering all over again.

Anakin did walk forward, but with only one thing in mind: hiding. Getting as far away as possible. In the end he walked the perimeter of the Jedi Temple and found himself in the hangar. Everything was better when he was working. Ahsoka's Delta-7 seemed like a good place to start. "Always gotta leave the dirty work up to me, eh Snips?"

Silence.

The red and green paint covering the surface of her starfighter reflected her personality. The various scrapes and dents were a reminder of their most recent space battle. Did he ever remember to compliment her new techniques? He couldn't remember. All he knew was that he'd noticed. She was working so hard to catch up to him. Some odd wire was out of place, like she'd started work but left abruptly. _What a slacker._

After about a good hour of working on it he finished and turned to his own Delta-7,

Sank into the stillness of his cockpit,

Closed the top hatch,

And cried.

 _She was fine? Really?_

 _Where is she going?_

 _Where in the universe is she going to sleep?_

 _Where is she going to stay?_

 _Does she still have credits?_

 _What about a weapon?_

 _She's a teenager._

 _A teenage_ girl _._

 _Who's going to help her out there?_

 _Did she even grab a warming cloak?_

 _What if it rains?_

 _Kriff. What if she meets a guy..._

 _I swear if anyone touches her..._

 _Beings are so untrustworthy._

 _Who are her friends going to be?_

 _What if she gets hurt?_

 _What are beings going to treat her like?_

 _Do they know she was innocent?_

 _Do they knew she could kill a man with her bare hands?_

 _Do they know that she wouldn't because her heart is so kriffing big?_

 _Do they know that sometimes she woke up crying because of people she'd seen die in front of her?_

 _Who is going to tell her things are going to be okay?_

He sobbed quietly to the silence around his cockpit, shaking, unable to stop the roar of flooding into his mind, one question resounding over them all...

"Ahsoka, why did you leave?"


End file.
